Despite two straight losses and his team dropping from the top 25 for the first time in over a month, Coach Urban Meyer is not is not totally displeased with his team’s effort; he knows that while there are some areas that need improving, he thinks they’ve played decently.
Unfortunately, they’ve run into two buzzsaws in the last two weeks, the latest of which — South Florida — dropped Bowling Green in a dominant 29-7 win in Tampa.
“It’s been a tough two weeks, and we’re anxious to get back in our home stadium,” Meyer said yesterday in his weekly address to the media. “We make a big deal about our seniors and make a big deal about playing our final game here, and we have had great success here at Doyt Perry Stadium, and we’re looking to continue that.”
The Bulls, after having a punt blocked on their first possession of the game and going down 7-0, scored 29 unanswered points and held BG’s vaunted offense scoreless through the final three-plus quarters, sending the Falcons to their second straight defeat. With Northern Illinois’ win over Eastern Michigan, BG was officially eliminated from Mid-American Conference title contention.
Marquel Blackwell, threw for 220 yards and ran for 56 more, overshadowing a similar player in BG’s Josh Harris. The Bulls’ Chris Iskra caught five balls for 73 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown in the first quarter, over a depleted BG secondary which was dealing with injuries to all but one of its starters.
Harris and the Falcon offense sputtered for the second straight week against a quick defense, which has been acclaimed as having many future professional football players. Harris finished the game 10-24 for just 84 yards, while rushing for 68 yards. The Falcons were outgained by over 150 yards by the Bulls.
“We came out of the chute fast, we were ready to go,” Meyer said. “We were banged up at the wrong positions in that game. The team that beat us won with speed. We need to continue to develop the speed we have and continue to recruit speed.
“We were exposed [against South Florida],” Meyer said. “Two weeks in a row, we did not make the big plays our offense is capable of making. We’ve played two very good defenses the last two weekends, and we played two very fast secondaries.”
Meyer said he was pleased with the way his offense played against South Florida, as opposed to Northern Illinois, where he said they were beaten to the punch.
“We were getting hit [against Northern Illinois] as opposed to hitting someone,” Meyer said. “We are a physical offense, and this week, we played okay up front against a good defense. We blocked them real well; they didn’t get to the quarterback. I just think we were exposed speed-wise. … We ran a speed option, and lost a yard because of their speed.”
The Falcons now return to Doyt L. Perry Stadium Saturday for Senior Night, hosting Eastern Michigan.
